Tuesday, August 25, 2009

R.I.P. Aaliyah

On this day 8 years ago, baby girl Aaliyah died . . .

Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001)

On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed in an airplane crash in The Bahamas after filming the music video for the single "Rock the Boat". The pilot, Luis Morales III, was unlicensed at the time of the accident and had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system. Aaliyah's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways, which was settled out of court. Since then, Aaliyah has achieved commercial success with several posthumous releases. Selling over 24 million records worldwide, she has been credited for helping redefine R&B and hip hop and has been named the "Queen of Urban Pop".